Boylesports acquires Tom Flood Bookmakers in a deal that sees them cement their place as the second largest bookmaker in Ireland with 192 shops; and Paddy Power reveal their latest Christmas odds in the console wars. The Irish Bookmaker Boylesports has received an early Christmas present by acquiring the assets of Tom Flood Bookmakers. 
The Dublin based outfit owns seven shops in the Dublin region and Boylesports have ushered €3m towards providing a spit and a polish to three of them based in Coolock, Clondalkin and Tallaght. Chief executive John Boyle said: “We are delighted to welcome the 39 staff of Tom Flood Bookmakers to Boylesports. “As for Tom Flood customers, they can expect that their local betting shop will now offer a greater range of betting opportunities with the same great service while enjoying the best facilities within the betting industry.” The acquisition brings Boylesports number of retail outlets up to 192, cementing their place as the Irish number two where it trails Paddy Power by just 18-shops. Boylesports were recently in the news after paying out early on the worst kept secret in football: the Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane Republic of Ireland managerial appointments. Eire is unbeaten after their first two games under the stewardship of the popular tandem. Paddy Power Christmas Console Odds The number one Irish bookmaker believes PlayStation 4 (PS4) has the Christmas console wars tied up with odds being pegged at 1/8 to pull in the bigger numbers whilst Rudolph is let out of the pen. The PS4’s only competitor is Microsoft’s Xbox One which is £80 more expensive than the PS4, but this didn’t stop them from selling a million consoles in the first day of launch. PS4 has also been released with the same aplomb after it too sold a million consoles on its first day of offering. Xbox One odds are at 9/2. “It’s all been one way traffic in the betting,” a Paddy Power spokesperson told MCV. “It looks as though it’s game over for Xbox in the eyes of our punters at least.” The ‘Blue Light of Death’ has marred PS4 sales. A pulsing blue light in the center of the console which is causing units to pack up and die before they have even breathed any life. The problems are similar to the much more painful sounding ‘Red Ring of Death’ that Xbox suffered during their launch four years ago. Keep off the curry I say. Paddy Power have Call of Duty: Ghosts as the 1/5 favorite to be the best selling Christmas console game with FIFA 2014 (4/1) and GTA V (5/1) trailing behind.
Boylesports Acquire Tom Flood Bookmakers
